The Equilibrium War
by Dairene
Summary: For 3.92 trillion wars since Great Renewal, an fruitless, endless war, the Equilibrium War, has raged between the Eternal Empire and the Universal Dominion, with neither ever able to gain a decisive advantage over the other even as sextillions of soldiers die in battles on quadrillions of systems, an ultimate dynamic equilibrium...
1. Intro

Since the Eternal Empire used a mysterious alien device, the Ultimatum Machine, allowed the limited reversal of entropy and the shrinkage of the Universe some 3.92 trillion wars ago in the Great Renewal, an fruitless, endless war, the Equilibrium War, has raged between the Eternal Empire and the Universal Dominion, with neither ever able to gain a decisive advantage over the other even as sextillions of soldiers die in battles on quadrillions of systems...

Young Yuwen Chen grew on the small, watery Dominion planet Donsan-27-III in the Donsan-27 System of the Frederick Sector of the Triangulum Galaxy, which is part of the Carja Galaxy Cluster of the Thenard Supercluster of the 14th (or Kaproth) Conglomeration. After graduating from high school, she scored high enough on her college entrance exam to register as a medical student in the medical school of Konigsberg-37 Dominion Officers Academy located on the planet Kongisberg-37-III. After graduating with stellar grades, she enlisted in the Dominion Navy as an Ensign, and was posted on the Triumphant-class Battleship DNS _Georgy Malenkov_ (flagship of Iron Fleet 326) as Deputy Bridge Medical Officer…

Bridge Staff of DNS _Georgy Malenkov_ :

Vice Admiral Ashley Wu

Captain Brooke Chiang

Weapons- Lt. Cmdr. Warren Topol

Communications- Lt. Marie Rose

Sensors- Ensign Ashley Shy

Navigation- Ensign Basil Uhura

Medical- Lt. Harron Chekov, Ensign Yuwen Chen

Security- Marine Captain Karb (Duros)


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: An Endless War

March 2, 935 [122M.115E.929G.3T]

(Third Terrennium, Gigennium 929, Epoch 115, Millennium 122, Year 935, Month 3 (March), Day 2)

On board the Dominion _Triumphant_ -class Battleship DNS _Georgy Malenkov_ , in formation with Iron Fleet 326, in orbit around garrison planet Konigsberg-37-III, Frederick Sector, Horner Arm, Triangulum Galaxy, Carja Galaxy Cluster, Thenard Supercluster, Fourteenth (Klaproth) Conglomeration, Universal Dominion…

Ensign Yuwen Chen snapped alert at her station as she heard boots stomping across the upper deck, indicating a high-ranking officer was coming on the bridge. While her medical skills were hardly needed right now, it would make a bad impression if she was seen dozing off while on duty. Especially since this was her first combat mission.

"Admiral on deck!" A familiar voice yelled, so Yuwen wheeled around and saluted. Her skipper, Vice Admiral Ashley Wu, marched onto deck, but she was followed by another man in Admiral's uniform, and escorted by four grim Dominion Naval Guards.

"Crewmen, this is Admiral Daire Bulson!" Vice Admiral Wu continued. "He has honored us by flying all the way here from sector headquarters in Braken-6-dash-V to see off our new ship off on its first mission!"

Yuwen swallowed hard. The presence of an Admiral before a mission usually didn't mean that missions would be easy… or safe.

"Attention braven crewmen of the battleship _Malenkov_ , as well as the rest of Iron Fleet 326, you have trained long and hard so that you can serve the Dominion today." Admiral Bulson began, then paused momentarily. "And your service is sorely needed." He activated a holoprojector depicting a 3D map of the Frederick Sector, with troop deployments. "The front line is retreating daily as the enemy, reinforced by fleets from Imperial strongholds in the Uppsala Sector, continue to assault our worlds. The fall of the neighboring Silicium Sector to the Empire last year means we are being increasingly surrounded. In the past six month, the Imperials have conquered more than a thousand Dominion systems. If they keep that up… well, you can guess what'll happen."

A murmur went up through the officers. "A thousand…?"

"I knew the Imps were making ground, but…"

"Can we even stop them?"

"Shit…" Yuwen muttered. She knew the news had mentioned something about it, but she'd never paid a lot of attention to them, and she hadn't known the magnitude of the situation.

Admiral Bulson waved for quiet. "I know you are worried by this abysmal situation. But the command staff at Braken-6 are composing plans to reverse the Imperial offensive. And you are at the forefront of it, the spear and skewers the enemy tide." The Admiral focused his holoprojector on a specific planet. "This is Tripoli-24-XI in the Tripoli-24 System, a major manufacturing planet, as well as a highly-urbanized area. The Imperials have blockaded planet, and have landed ground troops, but they do not yet control the surface. The Imperial Army garrison and Planetary Defense Forces, besieged as they are, are fighting on tenaciously in urban combat. Past attempts to break the siege with small flotillas and patrol squadrons have failed- thus we are turning to the heavy guns. Your Iron Fleet, to be exact. Your mission is to destroy enough of the enemy ships that the Empire either retreats, or is no longer capable of effectively intercepting our troop convoys." He handed the datapad to Vice Admiral Wu. "Any questions?"

"I understand clearly, sir!" The Vice Admiral smiled. "For the Dominion!"

"For the Dominion!" The other officers on the bridge parroted.

"For the Dominion!" Yuwen felt a surge of patriotism as she felt those words on her lips.

"Good luck- all of you," The Admiral scanned the bridge, before departing, his Naval Guard escorts close behind.

Six hours later, Dominion _Triumphant_ -class Battleship DNS _Georgy Malenkov_ , with Iron Fleet 326, over Tripoli-24-XI, Tripoli System...

Red klaxons blared across the ship as _Malenkov_ dropped out of hyperspace, startling Yuwen in the mess hall. Soldiers raced to get to their stations in time.

It wasn't her shift, so she wasn't needed on the bridge, but there wasn't any regulation against her being there. And if she was going to be shot at, she wanted to at least see the enemy. Tidying up her uniform, she ran onto the bridge and sat down next to senior medic, Lieutenant Harron Chekov.

"Ma'am, we are detecting sixteen enemy capital ships within sensor range, and several hundred fighters!" The sensors officer, Ensign Ashley Shy shouted.

Yuwen took a sharp breath as she saw the sensor scans of the enemy fleet on her display- it was about the same size as theirs, even if none of the ships were as large as the _Malenkov_. She switched to the forward cam view to get an actual view.

"Shields up and weapons ready to engage when within range!" Lieutenant Commander Warren Topol, the weapons officer acknowledged. Turning to Vice Admiral Wu, he asked, "Ma'am should be launch fighters?"

"Do it." The Vice Admiral nodded. "Ensign Shy, I want a report on the classes of those sixteen capital ships!"

"Yes, ma'am! Uh… we have two _Dragon_ -class cruisers, two _Imperial_ -I-class star destroyers, one _Victory-II_ -class star destroyer, five _Merciless_ -class destroyers, and six _Battlehorse_ -class frigates. Ma'am the bulk of the force is moving to engage us, but the _Dragon_ -class cruisers are holding position at the rear."

"Well, then, it appears we significantly outmatch them in firepower," the Vice Admiral shrugged. "Order the corvettes and fighter squadrons to draw away the enemy fighters, so we can slug it out with the enemy. Focus turbolaser fire on the _Victory_ -class, but lock proton torpedoes and ion cannons on the two Imperial star destroyers. Comms, instruct the rest of the fleet to do the same."

"No battlecruisers or battleships, huh, Ensign?" Yuwen's fellow medic, Lieutenant Chekov whispered to Yuwen, smirking. "Looks like they weren't expecting much in the way of resistance. We might even win the war now!"

"Yeah, well, I should have known you were a weird one, Lieutenant," Yuwen shrugged casually. "If we haven't won in four trillion years, no reason to start hoping now. But fuck the Empire anyways."

"The enemy has opened fire, Vice Admiral!" Lieutenant Commander Topol warned. "Our shields have suffered minor damage."

Yuwen instinctively clutched her console as the _Malenkov_ shook slightly.

"Relax, girl," Lieutenant Chekov laughed softly. "You'll get used to it. Don't they put cadets on the simulators these days?"

"I wasn't actually getting shot at in the simulators. It's just nerves," Yuwen retorted. "Besides the simulators had some pretty awful, worst-case scenarios- it's had to forget that real-life battles rarely get that bad. Unless we're about to lose the ship."

"Fire at will!" Vice Admiral Wu ordered, gesticulating with her arm harder than absolutely necessary.

A barrage of turbolaser fire sheathed into the _Victory-II_ star destroyer, downing its shields and blasting its superstructure. Something exploded, and the ship careened to the side.

"Vice Admiral, the _Victory-_ class is dead in space!"

"Good shooting, guys!" Lieutenant Chekov cheered, and Yuwen rolled her eyes.

"Good! Now focus the turbos on the Imperial-class!" Vice Admiral Wu ordered.

The initial wave of proton torpedoes and ion cannons had pummeled the Imperial star destroyers, but their shields had held. Now the turbolasers were directed against them too, their shields were beginning to fail in various areas.

Abruptly, a _Battlehorse_ frigate pulled up right in their line of fire and exploded spectacularly under the bombardment. Yuwen lurched back in surprise, as her console darkened accordingly to avoid damaging its user's eyes.

"What the- ?" Ensign Shy exclaimed. "What did it do that?"

Seconds later, a huge explosion erupted off the port side of the _Malenkov_ , making Yuwen wince. She'd never seen that big an explosion in person, even during her training.

"Wait, that was one of our escorts?" Vice Admiral Wu demanded.

"Y- Yes- " Ensign Shy stammered. "Vigilance frigate _DNS Pommern_ took a direct hit from… it was rammed by one of the enemy frigates! It's completely destroyed! _DNS Wyvern_ is scanning for survivors."

BOOM! Something shook the _Malenkov_ , and Yuwen instinctively clutched her console for dear life.

"One of the enemy frigates just rammed us!" Ensign Basil Uhura of Navigation warned. "It just barely missed our engines!"

"That's some fanaticism…" Yuwen muttered. "Two frigates sacrificed in suicide runs? I hope that's as far as the Imps are willing to go, or we're in some serious shit."

"Ensign, is it just me, or are those Imperial star destroyers retreating?" Lieutenant Commander Topol kept his gaze on the enemy fleet.

"Well… yes, their distance is increasing. They're pulling away!"

Yuwen breathed a sigh of relief, while beside her, Lieutenant Chekov muttered in disappointment.

"The _Merciless-_ class destroyers and _Battlehorse_ -class frigates have disengaged as well," Vice Admiral Wu added. "They were testing us, trying to intimidate us, seeing how many losses we were willing to take, then used suicide runs with their frigates to cover their retreat. Now they're going to regroup with the _Dragon-_ class cruisers."

"Yes, Vice Admiral." Lieutenant Commander Topol nodded. "But what should we do now? Are they going to hold position or are they preparing to retreat?"

"Either way, we need to inflict more damage," Wu asserted darkly. "If they're in retreat, the more shots we get in, the longer it'll take to repair, and it'll buy some respite for our troops. If they're holding position, we need to hurt them enough to make them abandon the system. Lieutenant Commander, launch all bombers and gunships, Theta Formation! Tell them to target the Imperial star destroyers and Dragon cruisers. Fighters are to take Alpha Formation and protect the bombers!"

"Well, the fight's not over yet!" Lieutenant Chekov seemed eager.

"It is strategically the best move," Yuwen admitted, nodding. "Even if it is more aggressive than strictly necessary. Let's hope this saves Dominion lives in the long run."

"The enemy's starfighters, sir! They're headed toward our fleet- TIE Fighters, TIE Bombers, TIE Interceptors, Vulture Droids, Tri-Droids, Hyena Bombers, Z-95 Headhunters, Y-Wings! There's hundreds of them, and more are launching from their hangars!"

"Open channel to fleet: Target with with long-range turbolasers to cover our ships, but be very careful of your fire! Don't hit our own starfighters and gunships! Point-defense lasers, priority targets are the TIE Bombers! Don't let them get close to our capital ships!"

Turbolaser fire lanced out to greet the small groups of enemy starfighters who broke through to strike at Iron Fleet's capital ships, but the majority of starfighters were locked in an intense and confusing dogfight.

"Whoa, they're getting a little close!" Yuwen exclaimed quietly to herself as an Imperial Vulture Droid momentarily obscured the forward cam view.

BOOM! An explosion erupted from the port side of one of enemy's _Merciless_ -class destroyers.

"The enemy appears to be recalling its starfighters!" Lieutenant Commander Topol warned. "Should our starfighters pursue?"

"Yes! Don't let them get away!"

"Our bombers seem to be taking heavy casualties from the enemy's point-defense weapons!" Ensign Shy warned. "But our gunships have reached and boarded the _Victory-II_ -class Star Destroyer!"

"Our boarding parties are reporting heavy resistance from the enemy troopers on the _Victory_ -class!" Lieutenant Rose reported.

"Tell them to push on- "

"Ma'am the _Dragon_ -class cruisers are jumping to hyperspace, Vice Admiral!" Captain Brooke Chiang pointed out. "And- the Imperial Star Destroyers too! Now the destroyers and frigates! "

"The Imperial fleet has evacuated the system, ma'am," Ensign Shy confirmed. "Only one _Merciless_ -class destroyer left- it's heavily-damaged and sending out surrender beacons."

"I can confirm that," Communications Lieutenant Marie Rose affirmed. "They're broadcasting their surrendered on all channels."

"Good. Tell _RNS Voroshilov_ to send boarding parties to take the crew into custody." Vice Admiral Wu sighed. "Recall all intact starfighters, and send out rescue parties for escape pods and damaged fighters."

"Imperial cowards," Lieutenant Chekov clenched a fist. "We should execute those prisoners! Or torture them."

"I'd like to see that bluffing when you get the Empire captures you… sir," Yuwen gave the Lieutenant a sideways glance.

"Oh, I'll make sure to give them a piece of my mind," Chekov asserted, missing Yuwen's tone. "And a shot from my pistol!"

"We're also getting a red alert long-range transmission from Konigsberg-37, but there's a lot of interference."

"Put it on screen," Vice Admiral Wu ordered.

Admiral Daire Bulson's face appeared on the central bridge holoprojector- but he looked nothing like the crisp Admiral they'd seen hours earlier. His cap was gone, his face and clothes disheveled, and there was a cut on his face. "...zzz...fleet….need you...zzz...back...under attack...zzz...fall back, now...zzz…."

The transmission cut off.

"Ma'am, we've lost the transmission!"

"We've heard enough. Signal the fleet: we're headed back to Konigsberg!"

"But ma'am, shouldn't we keep someone here to defend Tripoli against further Imperial attacks?"

"Good idea," The Vice Admiral nodded. Dispatch _Broadsword_ , _Edgar Snow_ , and _Waverly_ to take up defensive orbits around Tripoli. And have them take care of our boarding parties and rescue operations for damaged starfighters. The rest should follow us back to Konigsberg!"

"Crap, what- what happened at Kongisberg?" Yuwen clutched at her hair in worry. "It should have been a safeworld! Our friends, our comrades and teachers- "

"Whatever happened, we'll make the Empire pay. Regardless, gives us just more reason to kill Imps scum." Chekov tried his usual bluster, but Yu


End file.
